By Bill Parry
The Long Island City Business Improvement District announced its proposed expansion plan this week that would create a new sub-district along Vernon Boulevard, Jackson Avenue and 44th Drive.
Created in 2005 and managed by the Long Island City Partnership, the LIC BID presently covers the Queens Plaza/Court Square sub-district, encompassing Queens Plaza North and South – between 21st Street and Jackson Avenue/Northern Boulevard – and along Jackson Avenue to 45th Avenue.
Forming a new sub-district would allow services to be tailored to the new area while benefitting from administrative cost savings from joint activities, such as marketing, business services, increased sanitation, beautification and daily management.
“The economic and population growth of Long Island City remains unparalleled by any other community in New York state,” Matted LIC store owner Donna Drimer said. “The LIC BID is absolutely essential to managing our neighborhood’s continued growth and burgeoning infrastructure to the benefit of all – retail and commercial businesses, and residents old and young. As a resident and small retailer in LIC, I look forward to growing with the community and the BID.”
Expanding the BID requires a formal public review process. In addition to collecting ballots of support from tenants in the proposed sub-district, the LIC BID will be holding public meetings to garner interest and support. Two public meetings were scheduled Wednesday, July 29, at 9:30 a.m. at Hunters Point Plaza, located at 47-40 21st St., and 6:30 p.m. at the New York Irish Center, located at 10-40 Jackson Ave.
To then proceed, the expansion enters a legislative process that takes nine to 12 months and involves gaining approval of the City Planning Commission, Community Board 2, the borough president, the City Council, the mayor and the state comptroller.
“The LIC BID’s proposed expansion area incorporates Long Island City’s emerging businesses as well as new industrial and manufacturing sectors that have an opportunity to gain access to valuable business services, marketing tools and enhanced street cleaning maintenance that are helping businesses thrive,” City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said.
A typical Vernon Boulevard mixed-use property with 25-foot linear frontage would pay about $510 annually, according to the LICP. Wholly residential properties would be charged a nominal $1 assessment while religious institutions and non-profits are exempt.
Paula Kirby, the managing director at Plaxall, a company that has been located in LIC for more than 70 years, serves as co-chair of the Steering Committee.
“The BID is not just about improving the area for small businesses or residents or industrial manufacturer – it is about creating a better environment for all these stakeholders,” she said. “We are excited about the prospects the BID allows in terms of giving those who work and live here control over neighborhood improvements. We are confident that the BID will bring positive results to local businesses, to our tenants and to the neighborhood as a whole.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
